Saturday, December 13, 2014

JWRP Israel: Day 5

Day 5: My Shabbat in
Jerusalem was like no other I have ever experienced. It was emotional. It was
energizing. It was inspiring. It was as though the learning and events of the
past week were synthesized into a true feeling of renewal. Through JWRP, G-d is
presenting me with a window of opportunity. What will I do with this
opportunity? What changes will I make in my household ... in my life? I need to
go home and process everything I have taken in. But I am getting ahead of
myself, so allow me to tell you about my last 26 hours.

As the sun began
to set over Jerusalem, 400 women from all over the US descended upon the
Western Wall and made our presence heard. G-d must have felt us. I KNOW he felt
us, because I most definitely felt Him. We made concentric circles, held hands
and sang Hebrew songs over and over. A group of female soldiers joined in with
us and I felt so much gratitude toward them. I was in awe watching the sun set
over the Kotel. "G-d, look at me -- it is Shabbat, I am in Jerusalem
surrounded by women I have grown to love and — best of all — I am Jewish!"
I truly felt like a link in a chain between my anscestors and future
generations of the Jewish people. It was hard to keep myself from crying. I now
understand why it is called the wailing wall.

We went on to
Shabbat dinner at the Inbal Hotel. A lovely young woman from the west coast
came over to speak to me, as she grew up in Long Island. We were talking about
the experience at the wall that night. She expressed to me that she never
considered herself “very Jewish.” And that before the world events of this
summer, she never really gave Judaism much thought at all. But this summer she
began to wonder things like, “Will it be safe for my children to travel abroad
as Jews when they get older? Will it be safe for my kids to attend college in
the US? Will Israel still continue to exist for Jews?” I expressed to her that
while she may not always identify herself as being "very Jewish", the
rest of the world does. We talked about the fact that in WWII, Jewish families
were exterminated whether they identified as Jewish or not. I thought, instead
of carrying the weight of being Jewish — like a burden -- appreciate the BEAUTY
being Jewish.

Today we had
Shabbat lunch at the home of a couple, formerly from Manhattan. They were such
lovely people and it was great learning their stories. Our host’s father has
spent his career involved with Zionist organizations and was instrumental in
founding the Israel Day Parade in NYC. The father-in-law of one of our JWRP
sisters is the official “Shofar blower” at the same parade. Then I had a
thought: JWRP should be marching in the Israel Day Parade!!!! We have so many
women from the NY area who are all so passionate about supporting Israel. So,
Lori, you may be hearing from us because we’d like to make this happen for
2015!

Amazing Havdallah
service on the Aish HaTorah rooftop, rounding out a memorable Shabbat. Shavua
Tov, everyone … until next Shabbat!

About Me

I have worked in marketing & advertising since 1987, in agency and magazine publishing venues.
I started a web biz five years ago called, CampRatingz.com. I spend my summers working at camp and have published several articles on camp-related topics.
I am a single, forty-something mom, living on Long Island, with three beautiful, talented, interesting teenage sons.